Child&#39;s vehicle



Filed March 31, 19@4 ATTORNEYS Patented July 28, 1925.

usi'rr. s'rares rues.

ALVIN L. ERICKSON, OF KETCHIKAN, TERRITORY OF ALASKA CHILDS VEHICLE.

v. kpplication filed March 31, 1924. Serial No. 703,210.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVIN L. ERioxsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ketchikan, Territory of Alaska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Childrens Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in a childs riding toy of the general type of construction disclosed in Patent No. 1,475; 059, granted to me Nov. 20, 1923, and it consists in the constructions, combinations and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of the invention is to provide a wheeled toy which is adapted to be ridden by a child and which closely resembles-a miniature aeroplane, both in general appearance and in its movements when propelled on the ground.

A further object of the invention is to provide a riding toy of the character described which has a novel steering mechanism by means of which the toy may be steered readily and accurately.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a riding toy of the character described which is strong and durable in construction, is not likely to get out of order easily and is throughly practical commercially.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a toy embodying the invention,

Figure 2 is a front view of the toy,

Figure 3 is a relatively enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing particularly the means whereby the toy may be steered, and

Figure 1 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing a portion of the structure exhibited in the latter when viewed from another angle.

A toy embodying the present invention comprises a body 1 which preferably has the form of an elongated plate of greater width at one end than at the other end thereof, the plate being disposed vertically edgewise with the wider end at the front and being connected at its narrower or rearward end by a hinge, indicated generally at 2, to a tail-piece 3. The latter consists of a sub portion of the tail-piece 3 adjacent to the lower front corner of the latter and are secured to the tail-piece by rivets 7. The members 1 and 5 have socket or sleeve portions extending from the web portions thereof and a pintle 8 extends through these sleeve portions or sockets and connects the members 4 and 5 together. The pintle .8 is vertically disposed and the tail-piece 3, therefore,'1nay swing relatively to the body about a vertical axis.

The sides or legs of the hinge member 4 have prolongations at their lower ends, as indicated at 9. These prolongations are downwardly and forwardly turned and are provided adjacent to their lower extremities with horizontally aligned openings 10 through which a horizontal axle 11 extends. The axle 11 supports a rotatable wheel'12 which turns between the prolongations 9. The axle 11 may be a pin inserted through the openings 10 and the central opening of the wheel and then having the opposite ends thereof upset to prevent axial displacement of the axle in respect to the openings 10.

The body 1 is fashioned to provide a face 13 at its lower side adjacent to the front end thereof, this face being slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal and being adapted to rest flatwise upon the upper side of the front axle 14. A socket or bore 15 which is slightly inclined forwardly from the perpendicular toward its upper end extends in the body 1 from the face 13 and is adapted to receive a spindle 16 which extends through a transverse bore 17 in the axle 14 and then enters the socket or here 15, being securedin the latter in any suitable known manner, V

as by having'a driving fit therewith. The transverse bore 17 is located midway between the ends of the axle 14. The spindle 16 is provided with a head 18 at its lower no end on which the axle 14 rests, whereby the latter will be held close against the face 13, but will have freedom of movement sufli-' cient to permit rocking of the axle about the axis of the spindle 16. The spindle 16 is inclined forwardly toward its upper end for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The front axle 14 carries a pair of wheels 19 which respectively are disposed at opposite ends of the axle and are supported on the latter by aligned pins 20, each of which extends through the bore of one of the wheels 19 and is then driven into an end of the axle 14, the pins being provided with heads at their outer ends to prevent axial displacement of the wheels while permitting rotation of the latter.

The body 1 carries a seat 21 which is lo cated forwardly of the hinge 2 and is secured upon the body by any suitable fastening means. The body 1 also carries a plane 22 which is supported on the body adjacent to the forward end of the latter and includes end or wing portions which extend laterally at opposite sides of the body and are approximately equal in length. The plane 22 may be formed of ply wood or of a light gage metal and preferably is curved arcuately from one longitudinal edge thereof to the other longitudinal edge thereof as best seen in Figure 1. Angular brace members 23 have attaching portions 24 of relatively great length secured against the sides of the body 1 by bolts 25 or like fastening devices and have bracing arms 26which extend obliquely to the plane of the body and are secured at their outer ends to the underside of the wing portions of the plane 22 adjacent to the outer ends of the latter, as at 27 The attaching portions 24 of the brace members 23 serve to reinforce the front end portion of the body 1, while, of course, the bracing portions 26 of the brace members stay the wing portions of the plane and the body 1 to one another.

A dummy propeller 28 is secured to the body 1 at the forward end of the latter by a screw eye 29 to which a flexible cable (not shown) may be attached when it is desired to tow the device.

The steering mechanism of the device affords facilities for transmitting motion to the front axle 14 and to the rear axle supporting means simultaneously so that the front axle will be turned in one direction about the axis of the spindle 16 and at the pinched between the end portions of the axle and the body 1.

The steering mechanism just referred to comprises a steering rod 30 which is sub stantially vertical and rotatably received in a pair of vertically spaced guides 31 which extend laterally of one side of the body 1. The guides 31 may consist of staples driven into the body 1 and the steering rod 30 is held against axial displacement through the agency of a sleeve or enlarged portion 32 which extends between the upper guide 31 and a transverse operating handle 33 which is secured to the steering rod at the upper end of the latter. The steering rod 32 has a laterally turned lower end portion or knuckle 34 which is flattened adjacent to its extremity, as at 35. A link 36 is of bar-like formation and is connected at its forward end to the front axle 14 by a screw 37 or like fastening device, the point of connection of the link 36 and the front axle being lateral of the plane of the body 1 and approximately midway between the bore or socket 15 and one end of the axle. The link 36 rests adjacent to its rearward end upon the flattened portion 35 of the knuckle 34.

A second link 38 has a down-turned forward end portion extended through vertically aligned apertures in the superposed portions of the link 36 and of the knuckle 34, the downturned end portion of the .link 38 then being upset, whereby the link 38, the knuckle 34 and the link 36 will be pivotally connected together. The link 38 extends rearwardly of the body in underlying relation to the latter and is connected at its rearward end to the forwardly extending arm 39 of a bracket 40 which is connected by a pivot member 41 to one of the prolongations 9 at the lower end of the hinge member 4. The connection of the link 38 with the bracket 40 is at a point lateral of one side of the body 1 and the connection 36 with the front axle 14 is at a point lateral of the opposite side of the body. Therefore, it will be. manifest that when the operating handle 33 is manipulated to effect turning of the steering rod 30, motion will be transmitted along the link 36 to the front axle tending to Tot-ate the front axle 14 in one direction about the axis of the spindle 16 and at the same time motion will be transmitted along the link 38 to the tailpiece, tending to swing the latter in the opposite direction about the axis of the pintle 8. Steering of the vehicle thus may be readily accomplished. Since the spindle 16 inclines forwardly toward its upper end, the body 1 will bank or lean toward the direction of turning when the device is steered in the manner described. This addsto the resemblance which the device bears to a miniature aeroplane."

Stops 41 depend from the body 1 in spaced relation to each other and in position to limit the swinging movement of the laterally turned end portion 84 of the steering rod.

Obviously, my invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms other than that illustrated in the accompanying drawings and I, therefore, consider as my own all modifications and adaptations of the form of the device illustrated herein which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A vehicle of the character described comprising an elongated body, atail-piece, a hinge connecting the tail-piece with the body at the rear of the latter, said hinge including two complementary swingingly connected together members, one of said members being attached to the body and the other of said members being attached to the tail-piece, the last-named hinge member having a pair of spaced-apart depending prolongations, a wheel supported by said prolongations to turn between the latter, a front axle, wheels carried at the ends of said front axle, a spindle connecting said axle with said body, and a steering mechanism connecting said front axle to said body and operable to turn said front axle about the axis of said spindle and thereby to effect steering of the body.

2. A vehicle of the character described comprising an elongated body, a tail-piece, a hinge connecting the tail-piece with the body at the rear end of the latter, said hinge including two complementany swinginglyconnected together members, one of said members being attached to the body and the other of said members being attached to the tail-piece, the last-named hinge member having a pair of spaced-apart depending prolongations, a wheel supported by said prolongations to turn between the latter, a front axle supported on wheels, a spindle connecting said axle with said body, and a steering mechanism connecting said front axle and one of said prolongations of the hinged member to said body and operable to effect steering of the body by turning said tail-piece and said front axle simultaneously in opposite directions.

3. A vehicle of the character described comprising an elongated body, a tail-piece hinged to the body at the rear end of the latter, wheel suspension means carried by said tail-piece, a front axle pivoted to said body for turning movement about an axis intersecting the axle intermediate the length of the latter, wheels carried by the axle at the outer ends of the latter, a vertical steering rod carried by said body, said steering rod having a laterally turned lower end portion, a link connecting said laterally turned end portion of the steering rod with the said axle, a second link connecting said laterally turned end portion of the steering rod with the wheel suspension means of the tailpiece, and a handle secured to said steering rod at the upper end of the latter.

4:. A vehicle of the character described comprising an elongated body, a tail-piece hinged to said body at the rear end of the latter, a wheel supporting said tail-piece, said body having a socket extending in the lower side thereof in a general upward direction and being inclined forwardly toward its upper end, afront axle having a transverse bore located midway between its ends, a spindle extending through said transverse bore and secured in said inclined socket for connecting said axle to said body, wheels carried at the opposite ends of said axle, and a steering mechanism carried by said body for actuating said axle.

5. A vehicle of the character described comprising an elongated body, a tail-piece hinged to said body at the rear end of the latter, a wheel supporting said tail-piece, said body having a. socket extending in the lower side thereof in a general upward direction and being inclined forwardly toward its upper end, a front axle having a transverse bore located midway between its ends, a spindle extending through said transverse bore and secured in said inclined socket for connecting said axle to said body, wheels carried at the opposite ends of said axle, and a steering mechanism carried by said body for actuating said axle and for swinging said tail-piece simultaneously.

6. A vehicle of the character described comprising a body, a tail-piece hinged to said body at the rearward end of the latter, wheel supported means supporting said tail-piece, a front axle supporting said body adjacent to the forward end of the latter, wheels carried by said front axle at the ends of the latter, a vertical steering rod having a laterally turned lower end portion, said vertical steering rod being rota-tably supported on said body, links connecting the laterally turned end portion of said steering rod with said front axle and with said rear wheel-supported means, respectively, and a pair of spaced-apart stops carried by said body for limiting the swinging movement of said laterally turned end portion of the steering rod.

ALVIN L. ERICKSON. 

